4 min read

Issue 55: DFL with 3 partners, Ebay enters, Gazzetta

Issue 55: DFL with 3 partners, Ebay enters, Gazzetta

Here's your weekly review on what happened at the intersection of NFTs and Sports:

  • ⚽ DFL renews with Sorare and Topps, signs with OneFootball
  • 🛒 Ebay launches athlete-driven NFT collection with OneOf
  • ⚽ Gazzetta dello Sport to drop championship collection

Let's have a closer look! 👀

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⚽ DFL renews with Sorare and Topps, signs with OneFootball

"German Football League (DFL) has awarded licenses worth over US$179 million for stickers, trading cards, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to OneFootball, Sorare and Topps. The deals were a 280 percent increase from previous ones. From the 2023-2024 season onwards, digital soccer platform OneFootball will be an official partner of the Bundesliga, and will be allowed to create digital trading cards and video moments NFTs that can be collected, traded, and sold on its Aera marketplace. Meanwhile, Sorare will have exclusive rights to use NFTs based on Bundesliga players in a blockchain fantasy game, extending a two-year deal struck last October, and Topps will have the rights to manufacture actual digital stickers, trading card games, and NFT equivalents. All three NFT-related deals will last two years, from 2024/2025 to 2028/2029, with Topps' physical deal continuing till 2028/29."

🛒 Ebay launches athlete-driven NFT collection with OneOf

"eBay announced the launch of a series of exclusive NFTs through a strategic partnership with OneOf, a premier green NFT platform for communities across music, sports, and lifestyle. eBay's first-ever "Genesis" NFT Collection will feature 3D and animated interpretations of the iconic athletes featured on Sports Illustrated covers over the years, the first of which features record-breaking Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. The collection includes thirteen limited-edition digital collectibles as green, gold, platinum, and diamond tier NFTs, with up to 299 editions each in the green tier, to a highly coveted 15 editions only in the diamond tier. Priced for the everyday fan starting at $10, each NFT contains a 3D rendering or animation of Gretzky making a signature move on the ice. Throughout 2022, additional drops of OneOf's sports legends NFT series will take place in partnership with eBay, reinterpreting iconic Sports Illustrated covers in the era of Web3."

Source: Ebay

⚽ Gazzetta dello Sport to drop championship collection

"La Gazzetta Dello Sport is releasing their first NFT collection, paying tribute to the great passion in this sport. The collection also pays its dues to the new Serie A champions, AC Milan. (...) The “Campioni d’Italia 2021-2022” NFT collection has 4 tiers: Legendary, Epic, Rare, and Smart. NFT holders will essentially become part of the exclusive “Gazzetta NFT Club”. Smart tier holders will get 12 months “G +” free subscription, discounts and privileges on future collections, and access to the exclusive Discord channel. On top of these benefits, the Rare tier holders can access rare live streams and video chats with top sport celebrities. (...) Epic tier holders will get their name highlighted on gazzetta.it. In addition, they will receive a special guest pass to one of the many Gazzetta events, and also a framed page of the Gazzetta 23rd May 2022 paper edition. Lastly, the Legendary tier holders will have their picture on the Gazzetta paper to acknowledge their status in the community. They will also receive a VIP pass to be protagonist at one of the Gazzetta events."

Source: Gazzetta dello Sport

🤓 Wrapping it up

So what have we learned in this week's issue?

  • Partnership constructs can get complicated. DFL's deal with its three partners led to a bit of confusion on our end and we had to read the announcement multiple times till the distribution of rights made sense in some way. Video content seems to be an exclusive thing for OneFootball now, but all three partners can create NFTs with static pictures: Sorare will likely stick to the current design and usage in Fantasy Football and the other two partners will create some sort of other offering. We're curious to see what the end products look like (and how the differentiate) and if all this makes sense :)
  • NFTs finding their way into Web 2.0 offerings. Ebay's entrance into the NFTs shows two things: 1. The ecommerce juggernauts believe in the future of NFTs and it just seems to be a matter of time until we see comparable offerings in other shops. 2. It doesn't always need an entirely new shop and/or look and feel to sell NFTs. Ebay embedded their NFT offering into the shop that we all know for many years now. This might increase trust and encourages customers who are not yet familiar with NFTs.

And that's it for this weeks issue! And as always: Feel free to reach out for feedback and to discuss all things NFT and sports! To stay up to date: Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for stats, drop announcements.